Prealignment device for laundry mangles

ABSTRACT

THE INVENTION IS DIRECTED TO A PREALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR LAUNDRY MANGLES IN WHICH A PIECE OF LAUNDRY IS FIRST PICKED UP AND STRAIGHTENED BY OPPOSED SETS OF BELTS AND ITS LEADING END IS THEN DIRECTED DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN THE OPEN JAWS OF A CLAMP, AFTER WHICH THE CLAMP CLOSES AND A TUCKER BLADE MOVES LATERALLY TO DISPLACE THE TRAILING END OF THE LAUNDRY PIECE ONTO A LATERAL CONVEYOR BELT, AFTER WHICH   THE CLAMP REOPENS TO RELEASE THE LEADING END OF THE LAUNDRY PIECE.

March 9,' 1971 W. BETSCH PREALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR LAUNDRY MANGLES '4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Filed Dc; 6, 19 68 mmvrom WM (BM 3M Ml- MM,

March 9, 1.971 w. BETSCH 3,563,342

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PREALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR LAUNDRY MANGLES Filed Dec. 6, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR; MW BY Jv' Man-c119, 1971 w. BETSCH I 3,568,342

'PREALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR LAUNDRY MANGLES Filed Dec 6, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGS 78 I /11 I I Q A :T' i i 20 INVENTOR. WW

" MMW W United States Patent 3,568,342 PREALIGNMENT DEVICE FOR LAUNDRY MANGLES Wilhelm Betsch, Hoefigheim, Germany, assignor to Hans F. Arendt Maschinenbau, Bietigheim, Wurttemberg,

Germany Filed Dec. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 781,932 Int. Cl. D06f 67/04 US. 'Cl. 38-143 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is directed to a prealignment device for laundry mangles in which a piece of laundry is first picked up and straightened by opposed sets of belts and its leading end is then directed downwardly between the open jaws of a clamp, after which the clamp closes and a tucker blade moves laterally to displace the trailing end of the laundry piece onto a lateral conveyor belt, after which the clamp reopens to release the leading end of the laundry piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This invention relates generally to new and useful improvements in laundry equipment and particularly seeks to provide a novel device for straightening and aligning pieces of laundry preparatory to their introduction into the feeding elements of a laundry mangle.

(2) Description of the prior art Heretofore the feeders for laundry mangles have generally consisted of conveyor belts provided with clamps or other devices for holding the flattened leading edges of successively introduced pieces of laundry. The laundry pieces generally have been flattened by auxiliary apparatus such as suction rolls or boxes, spreader rolls or brushes or by suitably shaped guide rails. This prior equipment usually requires a two man crew for its proper operation and the laundry pieces must be very accurately handled in order to achieve uniform feeding into the mangle without causing creases or wrinkles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The device of this invention requires only a single operator and is so constructed that the laundry pieces passing therethrough are automatically straightened and aligned in a uniform crease and wrinkle free manner.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a prealignment device for laundry mangles in which a piece of laundry is first picked up and straightened by opposed sets of belt and its leading end is then directed downwardly between the open jaws of a clamp, after which the clamp closes and a tucker blade moves laterally to displace the trailing end of the laundry piece onto a lateral conveyor belt.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character stated in which photoelectric cells are employed to control the spacing between certain of the opposed sets of belts.

In principle the novel prealignment device according to the present invention consists of the following specifically constructed and arranged parts:

(a) Means for picking up and straightening a piece of laundry;

(b) Forward pulling means operable at a right angle to said picking up and straightening means;

(0) Discharge conveying means for conveying the laundry piece into the feeding device of the mangle, said 3,568,342 Patented Mar. 9, 1971 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With these and other objects, the nature of which will be apparent, the invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, the accompanying detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isomeric view, partly in section, of the straightening and aligning device;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

FIGS. 3a to 3e show diagrammatically the five successive stages of operation of the means for depositing a laundry piece onto the conveyor to the mangle;

FIG. 4 illustrates diagrammatically in perspective view the arrangement of the belts of the pick up and straightening means and of the forward pulling means; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic side elevation of the pick up and straightening means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the pick up and straightening means consist of a signal transmitter, a pair of conveyor belts, and an additional lower conveyor belt. The conveyor belts are arranged in spaced vertical alignment. They travel over rollers and move the pieces of laundry opposite to the direction of feeding the mangle. One of the belts can be pressed against the other by a pressure roller which is controlled and actuated by a photoelectric signal transmitter. The additional lower conveyor belt travels in a direction opposite to that of the pair of conveyor belts and is arranged adjacent to the lower belt thereof.

The forward pulling means consists preferably of two conveyor belts which travel over rollers and are arranged directly above each other adjacent and at a right angle to the pick up and straightening means. These belts can be raised and separated from each other and cause advancement of the piece of laundry transversely to the direction of feeding the mangle. Said forward pulling means also includes a photoelectric signal transmitter arranged at its end.

The forwarding or conveying means consists preferably of a series of spaced parallel conveyor belts, a clamping or gripping device controlled and actuated by a photoelectric signal transmitter, and an advance bar or tucker blade which is also controlled and actuated by a photoelectric signal transmitter. The forwarding conveyor belts are arranged under the forward pulling means and travel over rolls.

A pressure roller which may be raised may be provided above the feeding roller of the forwarding conveyor belt.

It has proved of advantage to position the lower conveyor belts of the pick up and straightening means in such a manner that they slightly incline upwardly in the forwarding direction.

Several pick up and straightening means may be arranged side by side.

More particularly the pick up and straightening means generally indicated 11 and the forward pulling means generally indicated 12 are arranged side by side at about the same level. The forward pulling means 12 extends transversely to the conveying direction of the associated mangle feeding device and consists of a pair of opposed conveyor belts 14 carried by vertically aligned driven rollers 15. These rollers 15 are driven, for instance, by means of a toothed-wheel gearing, a belt drive, or by other types of transmission gears (not shown). The space between the belts 14 is automatically adjustable so that a piece of laundry 16 to be introduced into the feeding device of the mangle is securely held while being transported and subsequently released for removal 'onto the forwarding conveyor belts.

The conveyor belts 14 can be arranged not only in a vertical plane but also in a steeply inclined plane (see FIG. 3). In the latter case their functioning will not be impeded by the vertically hanging piece of laundry.

All the conveyor belts have preferably a roughened surface assuring firm holding of the pieces of laundry.

A signal transmitter 17 which is, for instance, a photocell light barrier, is also provided at one end of the forward pulling means 14.

The pick up and straightening means 11 consists of two pairs of opposed belts 18 travelling over driven rollers 19, of an additional lower belt 20 travelling over rollers 21, and an air cylinder 23 for pressing the belts 18 against each other through a pressure roller 24. Rollers 19 are driven in the same manner as rollers of the forward pulling means. The cylinder 23 is controlled and actuated by signals emitted from light barrier 22. Adjacent to the lower belts 18 there is provided in spaced parallel relation thereto, an additional pair of lower belts 20 carried by rollers 21. The lower belts 20 travel in opposition to the lower belts 18. The belts 18 and 20 transport and forward the piece of laundry at a right angle to the belts 14 of the forward pulling means 12 (see FIG. 4). Preferably they slant or incline slightly upwardly in the forwarding direction of the piece of laundry.

The light barrier 22 is connected to the air cylinder. In place of the air cylinder 23, there may be provided other pressure exerting means, for instance, electromagnets.

Under the forward pulling means 12 there is provided discharge conveying means generally indicated 25 for forwarding the straightening and flattened pieces of laundry to the feeder of the mangle. The discharge conveying means 25 consists of a set of spaced parallel conveying belts 26 travelling over rollers 27 and 28; of clamping or gripping means 29 and 30 whereby a clamping rail or bar 29 can be moved toward a rigid rail or jaw 30; and of an advance bar or tucker blade 31. The clamping rail 29 as well as the tucker blade 31 are actuated 'by the signals of the photoelectric light barrier 17. A pressure roller 32 may also be provided so as to assure proper transporting and forwarding of the pieces of laundry on the set of conveying belts 26.

Because of the possibly relatively high speed of the forward pulling means 12 and the mechanical inertia of the straightening means 11 it may be expedient to arrange two or more straightening means 11 side by side.

The device according to the present invention operates as follows:

The piece of laundry, a bed sheet, for instance, is introduced into the pick up and straightening means 11 and the forward pulling means 12 at the side which faces the mangle (FIG. 4). The piece of laundry is manually inserted with one corner into the pick up and straightening means 11 in such a manner that the corner faces a roller 15 and the corresponding longitudinal edge of the piece is substantially parallel to the belts 14.

Thereby, the corner portion of the longitudinal edge of said piece of laundry rests upon the upper part of the lower belts 18 which advances the piece toward the straightening device by moving it forwardly until the edge is also picked up by the upper belts 18 at the place at which the upper belts are pressed upon the lower belts 18 by the pressure rollers 24. After a further short advance the leading edge of the piece of laundry interrupts the beam of light of the light barriers 22 causing the pressure rollers 24 and the upper belts 18 to be lifted from the piece of laundry. It is now possible to pull the corner far enough toward the forward pulling means 12, if it has not previously been pulled forwardly, to such an extent that it can be introduced with the other edge between the belts 14 of the for-ward pulling means 12.

As soon as the piece of laundry 16 has been picked up by the belts of both the pick up and straightening means 11 and the forward pulling means 12, it is pulled by said means simultaneously in two directions at right angles to each other. The belts 20 which run counter to the lower belts 18 straighten out any creases and Wrinkles which might form within their range.

The rollers 21 project somewhat outwardly from the lower rollers 19 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Furthermore, the belts 20 and the lower belts 18 are arranged so that they incline slightly upwardly in the direction in which the piece of laundry 16 is transported. Consequently, the piece 16 also is normally supported by the belts 20. As soon as the piece 16 is pulled forward sufiiciently so that the beam of light of the light barriers 22 is interrupted, the belts 20 cause the piece 16 to move out of the straightening means 11 while the lower belts 18 continue to pull the piece 16 into said device 11. The resulting turning or angular motion of the respective part of the piece 16 causes it to be pulled somewhat more deeply into the straightening means 11 within the range or reach of the belts 18 than within the range or reach of the belts 20. While the piece 16 is uniformly pulled by the belts 14 in a transverse direction, the pick up and straightening device 11 operates in such a manner that the beam of light of the light barriers 22 is interrupted again and again and that due thereto the piece 16 is alternately and for small distances moved in opposite directions.

Thus the piece 16 is pulled forward so that its longitudinal edge is parallel to the belts 14 whereby it hangs freely in device 12 over the lower belt 14 near said edge.

As soon as the first introduced corner of the piece 16 is pulled forward sufficiently, a signal is transmitted by the light barrier 17 causing the rollers 15 to be separated and the upper belt 14 to be lifted from the piece 16. At the same time the clamping bar 29 is forced against the rigid jaw 30 whereby the piece 16 is securely clamped therebetween. The tucker blade 31 is now set in operation and pushes the released upper portion of the piece of laundry 16 onto the conveying belts 26 by which the piece is removed from the device and is conducted in straightened and flattened position to the mangle as the clamping bar is released.

Of course, in place of a number of parallel narrow belts 26, a broad conveying belt 26 extending over the entire length of the discharge conveying means 25 may be employed.

I claim:

1. In a device for straightening and aligning pieces of laundry as an incident to their introduction into a mangle, means for picking up and straightening a piece of laundry, said means including a signal transmitter, a pair of conveying belts arranged in spaced relationship to and above each other for moving the pieces of laundry to be mangled in a direction opposite to the feeding direction of the mangle, one of said belts being forceable against the other belt by means of a pressure roller actuated by said signal transmitter, and a countercurrently travelling additional lower conveyor belt located adjacent to the lower conveyor belt of said pair of belts, pulling means operable at a right angle to said picking up and straightening means, a discharge conveying means operable at a right angle to said pulling means, and means for transferring the straightened laundry piece onto said discharge conveying means.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the said pulling means consists of two conveyor belts arranged directly above each other adjacent to the said pick up and straightening means, said belts being separable from each other and capable of advancing the piece of laundry to be mangled transversely to the mangle feeding direction, and a signal transmitter provided at one end of the said pulling means.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the said pulling means consists of two conveyor belts arranged directly above each other adjacent to the said pick up and straightening means, said belts being separable from each other and capable of advancing the piece of laundry to be mangled transversely to the mangle feeding direction, and a signal transmitter provided at one end of the said pulling means.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said conveying means includes a forwarding conveyor belt arranged under the said pulling device, a clamping device actuated by a signal transmitter, and a tucker blade also actuated by said signal transmitter.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein several pick up and straightening means are provided in side by side relationship.

6. The device according to claim 2, wherein said conveying means includes a forwarding conveyor belt arranged under the said pulling device, a clamping device actuated by a signal transmitter, and a tucker blade also actuated by said signal transmitter.

7. The device according to claim 3, wherein said conveying means includes a forwarding conveyor belt arranged under said pulling device, a clamping device actuated by a signal transmitter, and a tucker blade also actuated by said signal transmitter.

8. The device according to claim 4, wherein a pressure roller is provided above the receiving end of the said conveyor belt.

9. The device according to claim 7, wherein a pressure roller is provided above the receiving end of the said conveyor belt.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lower conveyor belts of the said pick up and straightening means are inclined slightly upwardly in the direction in which the piece of laundry to be mangled is conveyed.

11. The device according to claim 7, wherein the lower conveyor belts of the said pick up and straightening means are inclined slightly upwardly in the direction in which the piece of laundry to be mangled is conveyed.

12. The device according to claim 7, wherein the sig nal transmitters are photoelectric light barriers.

13. The device according to claim 7, wherein several pick up and straightening means are provided in side by side relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1968 Henry 38-143 3/1969 Weir 38143 

